The Demon King
by alittlebitlate
Summary: And they knew. The weak died in this world, and to restore it, you needed to become the Demon King. [LuNa, AU] on hiatus
1. the skies dyed red

_"When the days are cold  
__and the cards all fold  
__and the saints we see  
__are all made of gold - " _

* * *

The sky was red.

Oddly, that was the first thought that went to Nami's head, when she woke up in a secluded, well-hidden alleyway. She had slept in a sitting position, her legs drawn to her busty chest and a gun resting on her lap.

Her burnt ginger hair had been mussed up in her sleep, and her face was covered in soot. Frowning, she swiped a dirty hand across her cheek as she stood up, her aching legs groaning the entire time.

She looked around. There didn't seem to be any demons around, so she guessed it was safe to step out and scavenge for food. Her throat was dry, her stomach already getting hunger pains, though she was reluctant to step out of the safety of being hidden.

Her black boots thudding lightly on the cracked pavement, she looked around cautiously. Good, the streets were clear -

Out of nowhere, a woman with long, stringy black hair appeared beside her. She was dressed in a ragged pale white dress, stained with mud and dirt, and torn beyond repair. Underneath the hair, one of her eyes were missing, a horrible bloody socket, her skin a pale green, her face sunken in like she had clawed out of a grave -

Nami screamed, squeezing the trigger and aiming the gun at the woman. Was she a demon, or a spirit? Not that regular bullets worked on spirits. It needed to be made of salt. The gun pushed backward as she fired the bullet, jarring her arms and making her stumble.

The metallic bullet flew clean through the woman without any signs of damaging something, and the woman's figure swirled and disappeared, as if being made of mist.

Nami let out a long exhale, her right hand falling above her pounding heart as she tried to calm her fear. It was only a mirage...calm down..calm down. When her breath had finally returned to a normal level, her heart ceased pounding a thousand times a minute, and the adrenaline had left her veins, she started scavenging for food.

It had happened roughly a month ago. That day, her alarm clock had gone off at the wrong time, the skies were borderline black, and there were a few minor earthquakes.

And then, suddenly, volcanoes around the world exploded at the exact same time. Dust had flown in the air, the temperature dropped almost immediately thanks to the dust blocking out the sun's rays. After that, strange creatures had started to appear. They always looked half-dead, and seemed to want nothing more than destroy every living thing on the planet. They had strange abilities, like being able to breathe fire, freeze a building solid. Nami had even seen a particular one who had literally _melted _her ally into a puddle of skin-colored water, his last screams still ringing in her ears.

The world fell into disarray. Many animals had gone extinct. The human society crumbled.

To survive, you needed to be strong. The weak died in this world.

Already, Nami had lost her beloved sister, Nojiko, was well as her mother, Bellemere. Her parents had divorced when she was young. Not like she particularity cared for her father.

Nami shook herself out of her thoughts as her efforts to find food were fruitless (no pun intended). She sighed, her brown eyes scanning the deserted city, and the crumbling walls. She had been running around, moving to one place to sleep for the night, if it had a lot of food, she would stay until the supplies ran out. Simple as that. And then she went to look for another place with supplies.

She had gone through at least thirty cities already, seeing as the supplies ran out very quickly. Fruit was all but gone now, as well as fresh produce. The only food available now was meat, from an animal that wasn't dying (extremely unlikely) or manufactured food. Salt was considered a delicacy, as many of the large bodies of saltwater were dirtied and rendered unusable thanks to the soot in the air. Nami figured that it was pretty unhealthy to continuously breathe in the dusty air each day, but there was no alternative.

Despite all the places that she had gone though, all had one thing in common.

They all possessed the reek of death.

Sighing, Nami resigned to looking in the forest for some animal that was immune to the soot that she could eat. Her boots crunched against the ground, snapping twigs and crinkling dead leaves. The trees' branches were bare, the leaves having all died at the first round of volcanic explosions. Nami felt oddly exposed, standing in the midst of a cluster of naked trees.

It was then that she realized she was being watched.

* * *

He was _hungry_.

And, sitting there, he decided to let his brother know, too.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!"

"What is it?!" Luffy made a sound of triumph as his brother finally looked up from studying a ripped, dirty map.

"I'm hungry."

"You just ate five minutes ago!"

"That doesn't count. It was barely a snack."

"Luffy, shut up." The green-haired man beside him, who was previously sleeping, cracked open an eye. His face was set in a permanent scowl. He wore a white t-shirt with a black hoodie slung over it, a belt, which held three swords - spoils of war with another group of people - and black pants and boots. He had three identical piercings in his left ear, and donned a bandage clumsily wrapped around his head.

"But I'm hungry..." Luffy whined. The boy had a straw hat sitting on his head - a treasured item given to him by his role model when he was just seven.

Before the explosion that made clouds cover out the sun, Luffy and Ace had lived together in a house, his brother in his third year of university and Luffy failing twelfth grade. Zoro was his best friend, though they had only met because Zoro had been held back twice.

Now, after the explosion, the three men constantly relied on each other to survive, find food, supplies, and navigate to bigger cities where it was more likely to have supplies.

Or, Zoro and Luffy relied on Ace to survive, find food, supplies, and navigate.

Luffy slumped against the wall. They were in a wedged space in between two buildings, which was where Ace had dragged them when he had gotten ahold of the map. Bored, he started picking his nose.

"Hey, Ace, when are we going to go to a next place with meat?" This city had almost no meat, much to his unhappiness.

"Shut up, Luffy, I'm _trying _to look for a city." under his breath, he muttered, "Even if I can't even see the difference between the roads and the buildings."

In the distance, they heard a scream, then a gunshot. The three men sat alert immediately, and Ace, who was closest to the road, poked his head out and looked around. After a while, he shook his head. "I don't even see a body. They're probably too far away."

Luffy hated this new world. Why did people have to die? They didn't do anything bad enough to get killed.

"We're in the eastern suburbs, right?" Zoro suddenly cut in, interrupting Luffy's thoughts, and Ace's.

"Hm? Yeah, I think," Ace replied absentmindedly.

"Why not head to the bigger cities, so southwest?" he pointed.

"...that's north."

"Same thing. Anyway, the bigger cities usually have a lot more supplies, survivors and food, right?"

Ace grimaced. "But the demons there are more vicious, as well as the people. I've heard people there have those abilities - like ours."

"There's other people who have...that?" Zoro asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah. I've only heard rumors, but I'm not risking it, not until we have more people, at least. The three of us won't stand a chance alone there."

Zoro scowled at that statement, but Luffy knew that the three of them knew it was true.

There was a slight pause of silence. Ace went back to studying the map, Zoro went back to sleep, and Luffy returned to his gold digging. In that moment of peace, they heard something that shattered it just as fast as it had appeared. And this time it was closer, the three of them could hear it clearly, every last tone of terror.

A bloodcurling scream.

Luffy shot to his feet before anyone could react. His eyes fell on the forest where they had looked earlier for meat, to no avail. There were now two figures there; one was small and trembling, the other an inhuman shape and easily towering over the first figure.

He sped up his sprinting and tackled the girl over, her brown eyes flickering momentarily from absolute fear and terror to confusion at his sudden arrival. She had short orange hair, and was wearing a black jacket and pants, complete with a messenger's cap and a curvy body.

He looked over to the large demon facing her.

He was humongous, with green reptilian-like scales and insane yellow eyes. Luffy's stomach grumbled a bit, thinking of all the meat that he could eat if he killed the demon. A trickle of drool went down his chin.

He grinned and cracked his knuckles. "I found dinner!" he declared, laughing.

* * *

When the reptilian-like demon emerged from the shadows, drool dripping from his lips, Nami thought immediately that she was going to die.

He towered over her easily; he was at least five meters tall. His teeth were long and wickedly sharp, as well as his claws. Judging by his neon green scales, she was guessing he could shoot poison, too. She rapidly scanned her surroundings. The bare trees left no room for coverage, or to use as a shield. He was probably much faster than she was, and she couldn't exactly sprint her fastest speed with the uneven ground of the forest.

Briefly, she wondered which one would be more painful: being speared by the claws, poisoned to death, or eaten alive?

She didn't really know. She didn't really _want _to know.

She tried lifting her gun to shoot him, aiming for one of his eyes. At least, if he was partially blinded, she could try an escape through his blind spot. However, the only thing that greeted her was a hollow clicking noise.

She had thrown away her last bullet shooting the mirage.

Icy cold terror renewed as her fingers trembled so much the gun clattered to the ground, useless. She felt a sinking feeling as he reached a clawed hand, probably to pick her up, watch her struggle with twisted delight, and then eat her.

When, suddenly, before the demon could touch her, she was tackled over by something. Or some_one_. Momentarily, her fear was replaced by confusion. As she looked behind her to see her savior and/or assaulter, her eye caught the brim of a straw hat, followed by a bit of black hair.

As she landed, not too gracefully on her bum, she had a full view of him. The boy was maybe seventeen, a year younger than she was. He was average height, with a head full of black hair, a scar under his left eye, and a straw hat on his head. He wore a red hoodie, zipped up, with blue jean shorts. For a moment, they both studied each other. Unlike other men, this boy's eyes just flickered over her, his eyes glossing over her curves as much as her feet.

Then he turned to the demon. Nami heard a stomach rumble, rather loudly. _Huh? _

The boy was _drooling_. She gulped, somehow getting the idea that the reason why the boy had survived the volcanic explosions, and the aftermath, was probably not his rational thought.

He grinned, which only made her dread skyrocket.

"I found dinner!" He laughed.

_You're kidding._

* * *

So this is my first One Piece story, and I do realize the antagonists are cliché. Don't worry, I'll fix this. I know it was really hard to read through this horrible first chapter, but can you let me be more selfish and leave a review? Thanks!

-alittlebitlate


	2. the song of death

_"When your dreams all fail  
and the ones we hail  
are the worst of all,  
__and the blood's run stale - " _

* * *

_You're kidding. _

Unfortunately for a certain orange-haired girl, the boy standing in front of her was most quite not kidding when he declared to make the demon in front of him his dinner, as she clearly saw with the hungry drool trickling down his chin.

"Hey, that thing's poisonous - " Nami began, half-exasperated, half-annoyed, when two more people ran up to them.

"Luffy!"

One of them looked quite similar to the so-called Luffy; he had identical black hair, but he was a little taller with freckles dotting his cheeks, and appeared older. The other had oddly-colored green hair, piercings, and three swords that hung limply at his side.

The three of them halted to a stop in front of Nami.

Luffy chuckled a bit. "Hey, Ace! Remember when Zoro said we couldn't find any meat to eat in this town?"

"...yeah."

"I FOUND IT."

Ace facepalmed.

Meanwhile, Nami was inching behind them. "So, you can go eat your way through that poisonous demon, I'll just escape here for now - "

Before she could finish her sentence, her jaw dropped low, cutting off what she was about to say, as Luffy, who was wiping away his saliva, suddenly swung his arm behind him.

And his arm _stretched_.

She watched as it became more taut, and tighter the more distance it passed. At the same time, the reptilian-demon reared his fangs, revealing dripping venom in his mouth. He lunged for the scrawny-looking boy, who's arm was still stretched ten meters behind him.

"Watch out!" Nami gasped, her fingers curling into the fabric of her jacket as she tensed.

Before the demon could attack Luffy though, the green-haired man gripped one of his swords, one with a delicate white handle, and pure white sheath, and tensed.

"Ittoryu: Iai!"

If Nami had blinked, she was pretty sure she would've missed the rapid, flickering movement of his arm as he rapidly unsheathed, then sheathed the sword.

An inch before the dripping venom touched Luffy's hair, the demon stopped. Nami held her breath.

A large gash appeared hear his midsection, cut cleanly and gushing black pools of blood. Nami felt disgusted for a moment. The black blood sizzled as it made contact with any surface, instantly taking an acidic effect and melting it. A horrid stench flew in the air.

Ace had somehow fallen asleep. Guns were strapped to the older man's belt.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

While the demon was writhing in agony from the cut, Luffy had swung his outstretched arm forward, using the momentum to deliver a powerful blow that send the accursed reptile to the ground, screeching inhumanly in pain. Nami yelped in surprise for a moment as she covered her ears, shielding them.

Wheezing noises made her look back up again. She saw a pair of yellow eyes, belonging to the demon, who stared at them with a burning hate. His breathing was labored.

And then he roared loudly, the mere pressure of it blasting everything around it back. A gust of wind almost blasted Nami off her feet as she raised her arms to shield herself, a scream escaping her lips. The two men were shielding themselves, and Ace seemed to be able to sleep through even this.

She heard Luffy comment about how much his breath stunk. She had to admit, the boy was right.

"After all that, the stupid snake still has this much power?!" she heard the green-haired swordsman yell over the wind.

"Snakes don't have arms, or legs," Nami reminded him quietly under her breath. Not that it mattered much. She was pretty sure snakes were on the brink of extinction.

The demon seemed to want to drag them back down with him to..wherever he was going, and he showed no signs of relenting.

_No choice, then, _Nami thought grimly. With effort, she made her way to the still-asleep Ace.

"What're you doing!?" she heard the green-haired guy yell again.

"Finishing him off!" Nami replied, gritting her teeth as she forced her eyes to open, despite the immense air pressure. Her fingers kept flying away from the buckles, but eventually, Nami managed to pull out a pistol from Ace's belt. Salt was more effective, for some weird reason, but normal bullets would do, too, for solid demons.

She lifted the gun and faced the pressure directly, almost getting blown back. Ignoring the wind, she tried to take aim at the large, yellow orb that was her target.

She squeezed the trigger.

A loud explosion sounded, almost louder than the wind. jarring Nami's arms and making her lose her footing. Luckily, she was only blown back two meters, before the wind stopped altogether.

"Wha - ? What happened?!"

Nami sat up, brushing flyblown hair away from her face. Her breathing was slowly calming, the pistol that she had used lying on her feet.

The reptile demon was dead. For solid demons, their eyes were the most vulnerable point, and the most crucial part to aim at. Salt bullets usually made them shriek unholiness and writhe in pain as they slowly disappeared, not leaving a trace, but normal bullets simply killed them, leaving their body behind.

* * *

So apparently the thing _was _edible, despite being able to spew venom.

Ace had finally woken up; He had fallen asleep due to narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder which proved to be a little disadvantageous at certain times like when they were ready to get eaten by a certain reptilian-like demon.

"If you have that condition, then how'd you survive for this long, with the world like this?" Nami had curiously questioned him, before pausing and looking over at the green-haired man, who was polishing one of his sword's blades, and Luffy, who somehow managed to eat five kilograms of meat in under a minute.

"...forget I asked," Nami had muttered after a few moments.

Nami learned that the green-haired man was named Zoro, though she couldn't say his killing aura around him didn't disturb her at times.

Luffy seemed to trust her wholeheartedly after she shot down the demon, despite the fact that it was to save her own skin. While they were wolfing down the demon, he started a conversation with her.

"So - " munch, munch, "who are you?"

Nami sweatdropped at his bluntness. "I'm Nami. What was that thing where you stretched your arms?" Honestly, she _was _quite disturbed by that whole thing.

Ace ripped off a chunk of meat to the bone. "Oh, that?" he shrugged. "After the huge volcanoes exploding and the weird creatures appearing, Luffy and I got these weird abilities. His body has the properties of rubber, and I have fire." He stuck up his index finger, and a small flame, as controlled as a candle, appeared on the tip of it. Explains how they cooked the demon.

"That's weird," Nami absentmindedly mused. Could it be the result of a genetic mutation thanks to the radioactive dust that the volcanoes had spewed? No...she didn't hear of any genetic mutation that involved turning a live human into fire. She shrugged. She would just have to wait and see.

"So, whatcha gonna do?" Luffy's carefree tone, annoying but relaxing, cut into her thoughts abruptly.

Nami stopped the words from passing her lips. What _was _she going to do, after this? Most likely, fall into her regular routine: move from town to town in search of shelter, defenses, and supplies.

"I'll try and survive...I suppose," she finally settled on.

Luffy grinned widely. "Then join us!"

The blunt statement caught her off-guard so much that she blinked._ Join them? _She understood that, in moments of desperation, people would form alliances to rely on each other, and it was presented with a bigger chance of survival, but also of betrayal. Staring at the strong group of men sitting near her and chomping on demon meat, she couldn't fathom why they would want her as an ally. She was clever and resourceful, but nowhere near as powerful as they were.

"For what? What's your goal?" Nami asked carefully; she didn't want to be the person that was left behind as the injured antelope.

"We want to go to the Grand Abyss," Ace explained.

The statement alone was enough to make Nami back away, slowly, in fear. "The Grand Abyss?! Are you nuts!?" her fingers curled apprehensively on the asphalt, dirt marring them. "That place is like a slaughterhouse! There's more demons there than anywhere else in the world! It's the one place where murder is common and I've even heard about genetic mutations there, things you've never even fathomed could be real in your wildest dreams. Why _there_?!"

Zoro had gone to sleep, and Luffy was busy polishing off the rest of the demon meat, so Ace was the only one who heard her rant.

"There's a rumor."

Nami blinked. "Huh?"

"No one outside of the Grand Abyss knows much about it, or even what type of terrain is it. It could easily be a forest or an underground tunnel. But at the very end, it's said that there's a certain area called Raftel. Inside, supposedly, are the Gates of Hell."

Nami sighed. "There's no such thing as Gates of Hell, or whatever it is!" she snapped impatiently.

"Just _listen_," Ace said. "It's thought that someone, or something in the Grand Abyss opened the Gates of Hell, which resulted in the volcanic eruptions. There's a theory going around that all the demons and ghosts around that you see are from Hell, and they've escaped thanks to the opened Gates, which is why the Grand Abyss supposedly has more demons than anywhere else. If you close them, then you've blocked off all the other creatures from Hell from entering this world, and then it's just a matter of killing them."

Nami hesitated. "So you're saying that if you travel to Raftel and close the Gates, the whole world will return to normal?" she shook her head. "That's too convenient to be true."

"So is this." his finger lit up back to fire. Even though Nami didn't believe a word of the rumors, she had to admit that Ace and Luffy's strange abilities would not be dismissed.

He tossed her a book. Nami, startled at the movement, just barely caught it, fumbling.

"Read it."

"What's...this?" the cover seemed to be a childrens' fable, dirtied and scratched and old, worn, but she could tell that it was used with loving care.

_The Tale of the Demon King_.

* * *

"Huff...huff.."

A long-nosed boy looked left and right as he ducked into an alleyway, struggling to calm his breath and heart. _Please don't let them have seen me, I don't wanna die..._

"Hey! You brat! Where the hell did you go!?" Usopp bit back an unmanly shriek as he heard the gruff voice snarl for him, so incredibly close to his hiding spot.

_Don't think of looking in the alley, please, please..._

"Coward ran," another voice said. "Stupid kid, challenging us like that. He should know that we don't believe his bullshitting. Seven thousand warriors? Ha! As if! That scrawny boy couldn't command _one _person."

Usopp had to admit that, when he was gruffly shaken awake that morning and asked to give a few men all of his supplies, food, and clothes, he had fled. Fled until he was trapped, then tried to bluff his way out.

_"Hey! You'll get beaten up if you do this! I'm the leader of seven thousand warriors, and they'll all crush you!" _

"Dammit..." Usopp breathed. "I used to be better at lying. After all this demon business, I'm losing my stuff."

Admittedly, the seventeen-year-old had been incredibly shaken when the volcanoes had, suddenly and inexplicably erupted. His family had lived in a town near a volcano, and with the resulting blast, his entire town, including his father, mother and childhood sweetheart, Kaya, had been simultaneously killed. He had only been spared thanks to his habit of taking walks further inland, pretending he was a great warrior.

Those days of childish games are over. He needed to get back on his feet and _survive_, which he knew wasn't going to be so easy with the much stronger people who formed gangs and alliances.

Usopp didn't dare try that. He knew he would be viewed only as a burden, as his only skills were long-range. He could chuck a pebble at a target a hundred meters away and hit the bull's-eye without any difficulty. His trusty slingshot had kept him alive for so long, as well as a gun that he preferred not to use, but did come in handy when the time called for it.

The problem was, the city that he fled to when the explosions happened were quickly losing supplies, and the inhabitants were relying more and more on the weaker, but more resourceful ones to survive. He needed to leave, and fast, though he dared not venture out of the eastern suburbs, as there were far less demons there than anywhere else.

Usopp made sure his gun was fully locked and loaded, and his gunpowder balls that he used for his slingshot was in the small bag that he carried around. Tying a bandanna around his curly hair, he looked out the alley to make sure the coast was clear, and fled.

* * *

"This won't prove anything," Nami stubbornly declared, not even bothering to open the book. "It's a fiction child's book! Not a scientific textbook or anything! Just a fable!"

"But all fables are based off real things," Ace pointed out.

"Now you're just quoting fantasy books," Nami scowled.

"Just _read it._"

Sighing, Nami flipped open the paperback cover. She looked at the first page, then frowned.

"It doesn't say who the author was."

Ace shrugged.

She turned it, and the story began.

_Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, evil demons took over the world. _It showed a picture of unholy spirits and ghosts, emerging from a gate. Behind the gate was a mixture of red and black, the depths of Hell. She turned the page.

_They were cruel, evil, and wanted to hurt all the human beings. _Then there were the same demons who emerged from the gate, terrorizing the humans and animals.

_Soon, everyone lost hope. _A desolate mother clutching her sobbing child, hiding in a wooden house.

_However, one man didn't give up. _They showed a proud, tall man, with dark shaggy hair and either an extremely curly mustache, or extremely curly nose hair. _His name was Gold Roger. _

She turned the page.

_Gold Roger wanted to stop the evil demons from taking over the world, so he went into a dark abyss, where the demons came from. _They showed the previous man, entering a dark, horrible abyss, with demons reaching out of it, wanting to kill him.

_He went to a certain place, where he saw a gate, and he closed it. _It showed the man closing the gate that the demons had emerged from.

_And by doing that, he gained free control over the demons. _It showed the demons forced into submission, kneeling before Gold Roger as he scolded them for harming the world.

_He saved the world, and was granted a name. _

_He was called..._

_The Demon King. _

* * *

I LIED. I'M SORRY I SAID I WAS GONNA UPDATE YESTERDAY BUT I DIDN'T.

Anyway I feel like this is too similar to the original story. What do you think? Also, that bit with Roger, Oda joked that his mustache was actually nose hair XD

Reviews are appreciated!

-alittlebitlate


	3. clinging to shreds of hope

_"I wanna hide the truth  
I wanna shelter you  
but with the beast inside  
there's nowhere we can hide - " _

* * *

Usopp had no idea where he was going.

Truth to be told, he did know small bits of navigation. The sun rose from the east, went down at the west. Take a watch and align it with the sun, then halfway between the hour arm and the minute arm was north.

Except that the sun was blocked out by dust particles, and, in the world's eyes, there was no more need for watches. Your guide was your body; if you were parched, it had been a few hours. If you were starved, it was maybe three days.

Usopp had been walking on what he supposed was north (it had a cold-ish feel) on a gritty, gray, cracked road which he supposed used to be a largely used highway. Maybe 404? The yellow and white had long faded away, and new stains of scarlet decorated it.

Blood.

The look of it sent a chill up Usopp's spine. He knew, despite his claims, that he was weak. That he was cowardly. That he was scared and lonely and in desperate need of friends.

Because this world took that away from him.

_Kaya..._

He shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on that. He sighed, and decided to take a break, distancing himself roughly ten meters away from the paved road. He felt exposed in the open, thanks to all the time he had spent in the forest beside the town that he lived in -

_Focus_, he reminded himself. He pulled his bag, which had been resting against his left hip, into his lap and opened it. Half a bottle of water, his trusty slingshot and bits of pepper balls and gunpowder balls, some preserved beef jerky that he had found in an empty, run-down store in the last city, and some stale bread that was growing moldy.

His stomach growled softly at the sight of food, but he restrained himself. He didn't know when he would be able to find food again. Sighing, he pried the moldy bits of bread from the small, crumbled loaf, and placed it on the dirt beside him. He took two tiny sips of water. He frowned. His water supply was running out.

Usopp leaned his back against the hard-packed soil, and sighed. When he looked up at the sky, it was a dusty, gritty red, not at all the beautiful shades of azure, with white dotting it every now and then.

He brushed a little dirt from his long nose.

_"See, Usopp, you've lied so much your nose has grown long! Just like Pinocchio!" _

Usopp remembered laughing and brushing Kaya off, replying that he was already a real boy, so he didn't need to worry, that did she know about the time he also had been swallowed by a whale, living off of small fishes that swam in, hardening himself to the point where he cooked the fish by rubbing his hands around it -

He stood up abruptly, shaking himself from his memories.

With a resigned sigh, he stood back up, brushed off his dirty overalls, and continued on the cracked, paved road.

* * *

Nami stared at Ace, disbelief showing clear in her eyes.

"You're going to the Grand Abyss because of _this_?!" She almost shouted, shaking the flimsy paperback. "What Demon King? Everyone can see, very clearly, that it's not possible to control those monsters!"

"Do you think this is a coincidence?" Ace said then, to which Nami scowled.

"I think it's a fable that was written based off the imagination of a frivolous absentminded person who had forgotten to write their name at the front. _Demons _have been fables for years! It's not unusual for there to be a spin-off in a childrens' book."

"We asked you, what are you going to do next. You said you didn't know. The book mentions the Gates of Hell, which is also mentioned in the rumors. 'A certain place'," he quoted, "must mean Raftel."

Nami sighed, pulling her crumpled hat off her short, orange hair, and she ran a hand through it soothingly. "Okay. Say all of this is true. What will that do, if this 'Raftel'", she made quotation marks. "is real, and you make it there."

"We'll close the Gates of Hell, and then kill the rest of the demons still in this world so that it'll return to normal."

_"_I_ told you that's too convenient to be true - "_

Ace cut her off. "But it's the closest thing to hope everyone's got, right? None of us like this world, even if it seems so thanks to Luffy's happy-go-lucky _all _hate this, and now we're just clinging on to the last bit of hope everyone has."

_Hope? _Nami wanted to say. _What hope? Not even a thousand humans remain, the earth is in waste and these creatures are baying for our blood. Where's the hope in that? _

But she finally saw what Ace wanted her to see.

If they failed, they would die. If they didn't try, they would die.

It was their last hope, their last prayer to return the earth to normal.

Nami _knew _that it wasn't a good idea. One part of her brain screamed at her that it was stupid and futile and that she should stop wasting her life thinking about these things, that she should start going around and stealing supplies again, surviving again, and face the grim reality.

Her fingers curled around the cloth of her hat.

"I'm in."

* * *

He was hungry again.

Luffy sat unhappily in their little camp that they had made, inside a slightly larger alleyway and hiding them from demons. Why did they need to hide? If they tried to kill them, he could beat them up and they wouldn't try again.

But Ace had insisted, so there he sat, keeping watch while the others rested.

Nami had agreed to join them earlier this morning, and since then they had wandered around, scavenging for food and water while Nami scoured the place for a map. She said that all the food was running out and that they needed to hurry and move to a larger city. She kept insisting that she wouldn't enter the Grand Abyss unless there were six people in their group, and no less. Numbers meant more manpower, she had said.

His stomach growled loudly, and the orange-haired girl shifted in her sleep, mumbling something. It was probably cold, especially to her, since she said she had lived in the more southern areas, where she had grown up an orange farm or something. Ace said it had to be really warm to have a farm. In Fuusha though, it snowed regularly.

Luffy bent over. "Hungry..."

His straw hat rustled over his head, and he unconsciously put a hand on it, protectively.

_"Shanks! When will you be back?" a bandaged-up seven-year-old protested, while Makino was tending to his older brother's injuries. There was a particularly deep cut under his left eye that _hurt_, but Makino-chan had given him a lollipop so it was getting better._

_"Soon, Luffy, don't worry." A red-haired man smiled at him reassuringly, despite the fact that he was missing an arm._

_"But who'll protect Makino-chan from the big, bad guys?" Luffy protested. Two days ago, some mean, big, bad guys had tried to steal from Makino-chan. He and Ace had fought them, but in the end it was Shanks who beat them up, even though one with a big, sharp thingy had cut off Shanks's arm. _

_He smiled. "You and Ace will! You're gonna get big and strong, right?" _

_"But..." _

_"Here, I'll give you this straw hat to you." Taking off the hat that he had worn proudly on his head, he placed it on the smaller boy's one. "It's a hat that I've worn through lots of tough battles. Take good care of it for me, okay?" _

_Luffy grinned, hugging the treasured straw hat to his chest. _

_"Okay!" _

After that day, Luffy almost never took it off, save for showering and sleeping (it might get crushed, and Luffy didn't want that). He sighed, and let his back rest against the wall. Where was Shanks now? Was he alive? No, Shanks was super strong. He was alive, Luffy knew it. What about Makino-chan? Makino-chan was like a mother to him and Ace. When he, Ace and Zoro had fled, they were already traveling to a beach, because Grandpa was angry at them for accidentaly blowing up his stove.

But it was an accident. Really. Luffy didn't know that that liquidy thingy would explode on them.

His stomach growled again, and he groaned as he doubled over.

"Meat..."

The demon meat that he had eaten this morning, plus the yucky green stuff that Nami had found this afternoon, was already completely gone in his stomach.

_Ace is strong, right? So it's okay if I wander off a bit because if they're attacked Ace will wake up and wake Zoro up and they'll beat the bad guy up. _Nodding, he stood up, and slowly walked out the alley, stretching his arms.

_And it'll be okay if I get found alone, because I'm made of rubber. _

* * *

A branch brushed against his arm.

"AAAH! WHOOACHAAA!" Usopp jumped back four feet and held his arms and feet into a martial arts stance, breathing hard until he realized that it was just a branch.

"And...umm, now you see the great instincts of Master Usopp, wrestling with the strongest conscious tree in the world," Usopp muttered, continuing on his way as if he hadn't basically flown when the tree touched him. "And even with fifty poison darts stuck in his heart, fired by the evil tree, he still emerged victor!" Usopp pumped a fist up in the air and whooped, laughing.

His voice echoed throughout the large, seemingly empty town. He gulped.

_I probably shouldn't be too loud, I might get singled out again. _Keeping that thought in mind, and nodding firmly, he turned and crashed into another human.

"AAAH! WHOOACHAAA!"

"AAAAAHH! WHY ARE WE SCREAMING!?"

Usopp paused. "I don't know. Who are you?"

The boy standing in front of him didn't seem much older than himself. He was around the same height, with tousled, black hair, a straw hat resting on his head (not that it did anything to protect him from the weather), a red hoodie that was zipped up, and dirty blue jean shorts, and a scar under his left eye that didn't exactly reassure him.

Suddenly, he grinned widely. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"

Usopp grinned. "I'm the great Usopp, commander of seven thousand men! Strongest man in the world! Surviving in this world is so easy, I pity the weaker fools who have trouble!"

_"SEVEN THOUSAND MEN?!" _the boy's eyes practically popped out of his skull. _"WHOAAAA! AMAZING!" _

_No way...he actually fell for it. This guy's an idiot. _

"He's lying, obviously."

Huh? Both his face and Luffy's face slipped into confusion as an orange-haired girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She had an hourglass figure, and stylish clothing on, despite the circumstances.

"Nami! You're awake! Great!" he grinned. "I was looking for some meat! Can you help - "

WAPOWWWW!

"Whoa.." Usopp muttered under his breath.

In one, swift movement, Nami had smashed her fist against Luffy's head. "IDIOT!" she yelled. "You're supposed to keep watch! _You don't leave us, sleeping and vulnerable to go look for meat!_"

"AAAHHH! I'M SORRY!" A huge bump was swelling on his head. "But look at who I found!" Luffy gestured to Usopp.

_Huh? _

Nami blinked, then looked over at Usopp, who felt a little uncomfortable about his scrawny frame for a moment. Instead of being critical, curiosity shone in her voice.

"How'd you survive?"

Usopp was slightly taken aback at the question. How did he survive? He knew that countless things, plants, animals and humans alike, had already died, but he never realized how many exactly.

"I'm good at sharpshooting...?"

Nami stared at him for a second, and he could practically see the gears whirring in her head. "Usopp, was it? What're you planning on doing after this?"

"Not dying," Usopp replied, almost automatically. Well, there wasn't a lot of other things he could do.

Luffy suddenly grinned.

"Hey! Join us!"

* * *

My god Usopp meeting Luffy and Nami was so bad .

Okay, I see that there are eight people who have favorited and followed this story, _yet half have not reviewed_. That's a huge pet peeve that I have, so can you review?

(yes, I mean you)

alicidiez3: thank you! ^^

iforgot: probably tastes like Sea King meat

-alittlebitlate


	4. deal with the devil

_"No matter what we breed  
we still are made of greed  
this is my kingdom, come,  
this is my kingdom, come - "  
_

* * *

"Oi, kid, that looks like some tasty food you're makin' there."

Sanji blatantly ignored the gruff voice behind him, and the gang that was slowly surrounding him. The blond nineteen-year-old, instead, was completely focused on grilling a fish - carefully, mind you - with a small fire that he had made with a little bit of debris. His formal black suit was, much to his unhappiness, scruffed and dirty after many encounters with demons (especially the ones who disguised themselves as beautiful ladies).

The person behind him made a frustrated noise. "Oi! You curly eyebrows! Answer me, you little shit!"

Not even bothering to glance at him, Sanji pulled out a pack of cigarettes that he had salvaged from the wreckage of a former store, took a small cancer stick out, and lit it using the fire that was cooking the fish. It was a bad habit, he knew, but pretty darn addicting.

A growl sounded behind him, and Sanji ducked, dodging with ease the punch he knew was coming for him. Without even sparing a look in his direction, he smashed his foot into the other man's cheek.

_"Joue__," _he said, then proceeded to give him a barrage of kicks. _"Concasse! Foie! Potrine!" _the man went down, unconscious.

The other gang members circled him warily, before nodding at one another and charging straight at him.

Sanji loosened his tie, before falling into a handstand and whipping his kicks around, knocking them all back, before each dealing a blow to their stomach.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. _

The four of them collapsed.

Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette. "Shitty bastards," he scowled. "If you're not a beautiful lady, I've got nothing to give you." The fish was done. As he scooped it off and began eating, he looked through the mens' pockets, in hope of finding some supplies.

Nothing. No wonder the bastards were so desperate.

He leaned back against a dirty, barely-standing building as he ate the fish. When the volcanoes had erupted and covered the sky with gray, he had been working in the restaurant that he had been raised in, the Baratie. After watching his foster father, Zeff, get crushed by the mass of the building, which resulted from the shockwave the shitty volcanoes had sent, he had taken the coward's way, and, ashamed, fled.

After that, strange creatures, who were nicknamed by the other people 'demons', had started showing up, bent on nothing more than slaughter, whether it be an old man, a young girl, or an animal. Thanks to them, the small number of survivors in the world dwindled even more. He estimated there were maybe fifty people in the eastern suburbs, where before there were roughly fifty thousand. He had only survived thanks to the kick-based fighting his foster father had demonstrated (on him) and his vast knowledge of edible foods.

He was alive thanks to the old geezer's rough care. Shocker.

He dropped his cigarette, which was nothing more than a stub now, and extinguished it on the cracked, dirty sidewalk. The fish was enough to quench his hunger for now, but he couldn't say the same for his thirst.

A low growl sounded behind him. Without looking, he slammed his foot into the demon's jaw, then he flicked his leg downwards, smashing the demon's head into the pavement, where it lay, a dead, bloodied mass. He admitted, he had trouble attacking demons who had assumed the form of a lady, which is why he usually didn't want to look at them.

His small, crumpled bag lay against the building. After he had fled the Baratie, he had stolen a bag from a destroyed store, and had filled it up with all the supplies he deemed useful (other than five packs of cigarettes and his lighter).

That was a month ago, and the supplies had dwindled.

Nevertheless, he slung the pack over his shoulder. His sandpaper-like mouth reminding him of what he so desperately needed at the moment, Sanji set off to look for potable water.

* * *

_"No! Stop! Please!" _

_Despite the pleas and sobs of the orange-haired seven-year-old, the tall, muscled man ignored her, instead focusing on the red-haired woman who's neck he was squeezing dangerously. The woman made a strangled noise, her hands scabbing desperately at the larger hand that held her clean off the ground by three feet by her neck. _

_"Bellemere!" A blue-haired girl screamed beside her. She tried a mad lunge for the woman, but another man stepped between them and smashed his fist on her back and slammed her into the ground with such force that the entire house shook. _

_Nami whimpered, seeing the crimson liquid that was slowly pooling under her sister. Tears glistened into her brown eyes, and trailed down her cheeks. _

_"Bellemere.." she whispered. "Let Bellemere go..." she widened her eyes as a large hand lunged for her and grabbed her mouth, lifting her forcefully. She flinched in terror, as the man who had earlier smashed down her sister bent down so his piercing eye met hers. _

_"Now listen here, brat," he snarled. "Remember, that money is everything, and take your godforsaken mother as an example." the grip around her mouth tightened, and Nami wailed, though it was muffled by the hand, and started kicking her legs in an attempt to make him let go. _

_Suddenly, her head hit the wooden floor as black spots danced along her line of vision. The man had dropped her, roughly, on her head. _

_She heard the menacing clicking of a gun into place._

_"NO - " _

Nami jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, the only thing greeting her was the familiar overhead of red clouds. For a moment, her eyes darted around her in alarm, taking in the surroundings. Alleyway. A group of men that she had learned to be her allies. And a certain green-haired man who was _supposed _to be keeping watch but instead was snoring the day away, much like his comrades.

Nami ran a trembling hand through her damp orange hair, trying to quiet the panic drawing in her heart. She picked up her crumpled cap and patted the dust out of it, before placing it back on her head. Normally, she would've been irritated by Zoro for falling asleep when they could've easily been attacked by a demon, much like Luffy who had abandoned them earlier in favor to search for meat. This time, however, she was grateful the brute had been asleep. She was quite sure that she'd thrashed around, evidenced by the many scrapes she now found on her body.

Eleven years. It had been eleven years, yet time from time, still, those nightmares came to plague her in reminder of her debt and how she would never be able to live it off.

She had been lying to Luffy when she said her mother and sister had been killed by a demon.

Unconsciously, her hand crept up to clutch her left shoulder, a familiar scar throbbing there. She bit her lip so hard she felt blood well up and trickle down her chin, the crimson trail, along with the sudden bout of pain bringing her back to her rational self.

Food. Supplies. A compass. A map. They needed that today at most, if they were going to travel to a bigger, better-stocked city before heading to the Grand Abyss. _  
_

Nami took a sniff then wrinkled her nose.

_And clothes. God forbid if I forget the clothes. Everyone stinks. _

A snore pierced her thoughts, and she looked over to the long-nosed boy who was on the ground, using his bag of supplies as a pillow. Last night, she and Luffy and told him of their intentions. Usopp had been skeptical at best, but when she explained to him, again, that it was their closest thing to hope, and the biggest lead they had on restoring the world, he had agreed, even if it had mostly been influenced when Nami told him of the mens' strength.

She stood up and, when none of the men shifted, she decided that it was probably too early in the morning for them to be functioning properly, and she couldn't exactly put them in life-threatening situations if they were half-asleep. That could cut their survival rates to zero. Nami had seen it happen before.

Shrugging, she dusted herself off, before straightening her cap and smoothing out her silky orange hair. Before the world had fallen into disarray, she had been told many times that she was quite beautiful, even if it was only from disgusting pedophiles and flirty perverts. Even so, she had liked the attention. Now, she was just glad to be alive.

She decided to scavenge a little ways for food and water. As long as she didn't wander too far, she was sure to be safe. Right?

Nami poked her head out of the safely-hidden alleyway, feeling, yet again, vulnerable and exposed. The only type of self-defense she had was a tri-section bo staff that she carried in her pockets, and, even though she was able to wield it with medium proficiency, there were monstrous people in this world that she couldn't hope to defeat.

_Arlong. _The man's name flashed in her head briefly, and she involuntarily shuddered, feeling a cold sweat build up at the back of her neck. He had left her alone during her teenage years while she was gathering money, and she had no idea if he was still alive after the volcanic explosions.

She poked her head around here and there, making sure that she could see the alleyway where her allies were at all times. One hand was permanently resting on the bo staff, while the other brushed debris and dead things that she didn't really want to think about out of her way.

Eventually, she found a half-intact store, a few buildings beside the alleyway. It was out of sight and a little farther than she initially wanted to venture, but inside were supplies that could prove invaluable in extreme situations.

Gritting her teeth, and assuring that nothing would happen to her, she tugged at her earlobe. On her pierced ear was a tangerine-shaped diamond, one which she had used quite a bit to steal money and pay off her debt to Arlong. She raised it to the sliding door, which had formerly been automatic, and traced a large rectangle for her to go through. The diamond cut through the glass like a knife through melted butter. The rectangular piece of glass fell forward, and Nami caught it before it could crash into the floor with practiced ease, her muscles moving a familiar way.

Putting back the diamond with her free hand, she grabbed the glass with both hands and gently placed it on the ground inside the store, careful not to make a noise, before noiselessly stepping into it.

The section on the right was completely crushed, the ceiling having crumbled, but the left was still intact, a few supplies left on the hanging racks. It appeared to have been a multi-purpose store before.

Her footsteps were quiet against the floor, and she passed a few rows that had no use in survival. Pets...toothbrushes.. she stopped in front of a rack with deodorant and supposed it was the best thing she had. Picking up a discarded black garbage bag, she filled it with as much as she deemed necessary (which was a lot considering how much the men stunk), before moving onto the clothing section. Again, she chose clothing that she estimated was the right size.

Of course, cute and fashionable for herself. The sole good thing about this was that she didn't need to pay for the clothes.

After searching through the food section and rifling through rotted vegetables, she finally found three cans of corn and beans, along with some carbonated drinks, beer and bottled water. Obviously, someone had been here before and had completely raided the store. Not as much as she hoped to find, but it still count.

Lifting the now much-heavier bag and grunting quietly at its weight, she was careful not to clink any of the louder supplies together. She had no idea how much time had passed, and was eager to get back to her allies' sides as to not worry them if they wake up earlier than she had anticipated, and also the assurance that she would be far safer with them and their superior fighting skills.

"Long time no see, Nami."

The abrupt voice cut into her thoughts, and made her jump. A cold shiver went down her back as she identified the voice.

"Arlong."

She was glad her voice didn't tremble, albeit only barely. She looked over one shoulder, her bangs covering one eye, and she saw the hated man.

It seemed that the volcanic explosions did nothing to hinder him. He was still tall, well-muscled to the point where Nami wondered if he was taking steroids just to intimidate the people around her. His long, black, shaggy hair was pulled back in a bandanna, his unnaturally sharp teeth revealed as his lips pulled back in a cold smile. He was tall, standing at 6'9, and easily towered over Nami. He showed no signs of hardship or struggle. Instead, he was dressed casually, in a yellow Hawaiian button-up shirt that was left open, revealing his taut muscles, and some tattered jean capris. He wore sandals on his feet.

"What do you want?" Nami phrased it carefully, eyeing the man with suspicion. Unconsciously, her fingers curled over the garbage bag. Like hell he was taking that, she didn't _care _how much she owed him. She needed that to survive.

"Surely you haven't forgotten about your mother's debt, have you, Nami?" he grinned again, only it was from sadistic pleasure. Nami bit her tongue to prevent from shouting at him.

"...no."

His massive hand rested on her head, and she almost flinched. "Well, you know how hard it is surviving now, right?" his voice had a lilt of humor in it. Dirty bastard. "So I thought, maybe, just maybe..."

"I'm not giving up my life for yours," cut in her swift voice. The moment it passed her lips, she regretted it, and cringed, ready for a punch, a slap, _anything_. She had grown accustomed to it over the years.

Instead, Arlong merely threw his head back and laughed, his voice echoing for what seemed like miles in the store. "Listen, you'll join my gang. You've got the best chance of survival there anyway, those greenhorns wouldn't last three seconds." Nami tried not to show her surprise when he revealed that he knew about her new allies. "You're clever, unlike other humans." Smug, arrogant bastard considered himself above the human race. "Sneak into those small, but resourceful gangs, and when the time comes..." his grin went wider, if that was even possible. "Steal all their supplies and kill them in their sleep."

Nami pulled in a sharp intake of breath. It wasn't like she was emotionally attached to her pack of odd allies, but she couldn't imagine doing something as cruel and coldhearted like that to someone like Luffy.

Arlong noticed her mental struggle. "Remember your sister," he chuckled lightly when Nami's eyes widened again. _Sick, arrogant little..._

Her hand lifted and brushed the hem of her cap.

_Nojiko..._

She gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to let someone else die.

_Bellemere, what would you do? _

"...alright."

* * *

_Pop. _

Zoro's eyes opened as soon as the sleep bubble popped. "Fell asleep again," he mumbled, rubbing his nose. _  
_

KAPOWWWW!

Suddenly, he found himself on the ground, his chin pressing in against the gravel, his eyes squeezed shut as he clutched at a large, expanding bump on his head. Over him, a certain orange-haired woman towered over him.

"Idiot!" she scowled. "When you're on watch, you _stay awake_. Got it?! What would've happened if a demon had attacked us while we were sleeping?!"

"I would've cut him," he responded automatically, realizing too late that it was the wrong answe -

KAPOWWWWW!

Zoro groaned as he clutched a second, ever-growing bump to join his first.

Nami sat down, huffing loudly. By now, all their companions were stirring awake. He noticed the long-nosed boy who he had met last night while he was keeping watch. Nami and Luffy had brought him back, somehow convincing him to come with them.

As they mumbled their sleepy 'good morning's to each other, Luffy introduced Ace to Usopp, and Nami watched over them impatiently, a frown present on her face. He noticed that the arms that she had folded together were trembling, and a bead of sweat was on her right temple. _What's with that woman? _he mentally scowled. Kuina would never -

_Enough. _He cut off his thoughts before they strayed dangerously to a certain girl.

As Nami yelled at them to be more careful like things about staying awake to keep watch, pointing roughly at _him _for example, and continuing about the dangers that demons and other, stronger gangs posed, Zoro's eyes drooped. Well, he was _sorry _that he had fallen asleep in the middle of the night, even though he didn't see how that had mattered since no demons attacked them anyway and Nami always woke up before daybreak.

More like, he was sorry because there were two bumps the size of basketballs throbbing on his head.

"Anyway," the darned woman sighed, jerking at the plastic, black bag behind her. "I found some supplies in a nearby building." She pulled it over and opened it for them.

"But we can't eat clothes - " Luffy began.

KAPOWWWWW!

Zoro admitted, he felt a little sorry for Luffy as he lay on the ground, his head sizzling from the woman's surprisingly powerful punch, despite her looks.

Ace picked up a yellow button-up shirt, then sniffed it. "It smells better than Luffy's pee, at least."

"But I had to go!"

Usopp rifled through the bag, before sitting back down. "No fresh produce?" the scrawny boy looked a little disappointed.

Nami shook her head. Zoro mentally thought that, out of all of them, she probably preferred Usopp the most. Maybe because he was so jumpy and therefore was more willing to comply to her very demanding needs.

"Hey!" Zoro's face cracked into a grin. "You've got beer!" he reached in the garbage bag to take one, and his hand was roughly slapped away.

Zoro scowled. "What?" he snapped.

"You need to _ration _this, for heaven's sake!" Nami snapped back, with equal amount of frustration, if not more. "Don't go drinking whenever you want! This isn't like before!"

_Of course _he knew it wasn't like before. He had been there when the volcanoes had erupted. He scowled at the woman, before folding his arms and leaning against the alley wall.

After a while, Nami forced them all to, at the very least, put on some deodorant and scrub their faces with a tiny bit of the bottled water, and change their clothing. He had changed from his black leather jacket to a white short-sleeved shirt, along with a green waist-warmer, dark green pants and thick boots, keeping his three swords, especially Wado, hooked through it.

"Okay! Now, you guys are going to look for food!" Nami cheered, pumping a fist up. So _this _is what she wanted, the damned woman.

"What?!" Usopp's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, poor guy. "You mean...alone?!"

Nami waved him off breezily. "No, we need a few people staying here with me." He could literally see all the males, with the exception of Luffy (who was picking his nose), sweatdrop.

"Oh, okay, good." Usopp sounded relieved. Conspirators.

He almost couldn't help it when he and Ace were forcefully shoved out the alleyway with the combined strength of Usopp and Nami. When they were desperate, their strength seemed to increase tenfold. Plus, Nami was holding one of his swords hostage.

As he turned around to yell probably a swear, or maybe for the woman to give Yubashiri back, they erected a tall piece of scrap wood that had been lying in the alleyway, and had wedged it through the hole. On the wood, words were hastily spray-painted on it:

_Good luck! FIGHT!_

"Oi.." Ace muttered under his breath.

Grumbling, Zoro turned to his right and started walking alongside the sidewalk. He jammed his hands to his pockets and wondered if Luffy would be mad if he cut Nami and Usopp in half.

Probably. Luffy was always overprotective of his friends.

He turned, and then suddenly found himself on the road. "...the hell?" Zoro scowled. "Wasn't I walking along the sidewalk? What's up with this city?!" he looked around, taking a right turn, then he went straight.

And suddenly found himself staring at the same spot again.

There was something wrong with the sidewalks.

Suddenly, as the clouds rumbled overhead, gray ash began falling from the sky. He lifted a hand, and when he pulled it back down to examine it, it was completely covered with gray soot. "Eh?" First, the sidewalks were messed up, and now there was ashes from the sky?

He scratched his head, thinking of how to get back. Maybe he would drag Usopp with him when he left, partially in revenge for making him their slave, partially because Usopp could probably fix the sidewalks again.

He had just taken one step before colliding with a man beside him.

* * *

this was so boring ._. even though it was longer, which I like, but it took longer, which I do not like. Life is full of read-the-fine-print or good things that come with catches. ewe okay, nao review I OOOOORDER YOOOOOOOOU THROUGH THE POWER CHANNELED THROUGH SANJI'S CURLY EYEBROWS.

Jk. But they _are _pretty curly. (though I swear I've got 11 follows and favorites and half of my reviews are guest reviews ._. I swear if you follow or favorite, at least leave one review ._. that is my pet peeve)

Mor: Thank you! :D

Guest: Well, I'm trying XD

-alittlebitlate


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